Inter Miami advanced to the Leagues Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Tigres UANL despite Lionel Messi missing through a nagging hamstring injury and coach Javier Mascherano being dismissed. Luis Suárez converted two penalties, the first after Javier Aquino's handball and the second a minute from full time. Jordi Alba limped off after colliding with teammate Telasco Segovia. Ángel Correa equalised midway through the second half and Edgar López hit both posts in stoppage time. Assistant Javi Morales said the dismissal followed arguments about added time and Mascherano may face a three-game ban. Miami will face Orlando City in the semi-finals.
Messi was trending towards playing when reports emerged that suggested he had been able to train - albeit on his own - the day before the game but the Argentina captain was ruled out due to a nagging hamstring injury. It didn't appear to be a hindrance to Miami when Luis Suarez put them ahead from the penalty spot after Javier Aquino handballed inside the area.
But things took a turn for the worse for the home team as, first, former Spain full-back Jordi Alba limped off after colliding with team-mate Telasco Segovia and then Mascherano was sent to the stands after complaining about the amount of time added on at the end of the first half. Mascherano did not help his cause for leniency by standing behind the dug-out and barking at his players after being dismissed.
"It is not clear, what happened at the end of the first half is that the referee added four minutes [of added time] and we ended up playing six or something like that," Morales said after the game. "So we argued about the time, you are human and you start to talk. It wasn't clear but the referee said Javier [Mascherano] got a red card and that's it. We didn't get much information. We were complaining about the added time."
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